Access services are dynamically allocated for processing received data traffic by creating routing information for data traffic associated with a particular subscriber, subscriber equipment and/or network address information. The routing information identifies services that the data traffic can be subjected to and the order in which the services are provided. When an attached request is received, appropriate services for the requesting subscriber are retrieved from a database based on particular identifying information which may include the identification of the subscriber, subscriber equipment, network address or other information. The services are organized in a routing path and the allocated network address and the routing path are transferred to a smart router. Data traffic, associated with the allocated network address is then routed through servers to provide the identified services.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A method that allocates access services for a subscriber requesting to attach to an Internet Protocol (IP) network, the method comprising the actions of: obtaining identification information of a requesting subscriber that sent a request to attach to an IP network and a currently assigned IP address which was assigned to the requesting subscriber to be used during the current access session over the IP network; identifying, based at least in part on the identification information, two or more different access services associated with the identification information; creating a routing path toward an external IP network that includes two or more different access service servers in which data traffic associated with the subscriber is passed through in a certain order for providing the identified two or more of access services, wherein the certain order in the routing path defines routing received packets toward a first access service server from the two or more different access service servers, waiting for receiving a relevant processed packet from the first access service server and transfer the received relevant processed packet toward a second access service server from the two or more different access service servers; and associating the routing path with the currently assigned IP address.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the action of transferring the routing path and the assigned IP address into a smart router.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action of obtaining an IP address which was assigned to the requesting subscriber further comprising obtaining a port number.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the action of obtaining an IP address which was assigned to the requesting subscriber further comprising obtaining a public IP address.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the action of routing received packets that include the assigned IP address through the two or more of access service servers included in the routing path.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the action of identifying the two or more access services further comprises receiving real-time information and including the real-time information in the identification action.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein real-time information comprises the time-of-day and the action of identifying access services further comprises identifying access services that are applicable for the received time-of-day.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the identification information comprises an International Mobile Subscriber Identity for a subscriber and the action of identifying access services further comprises identifying access services that are associated, at least in part, with that particular International Mobile Subscriber Identity.
9. A method that transfers toward an external Internet Protocol (IP) network via a smart router data traffic of a subscriber through two or more different access services that are available to the subscriber, the method comprising actions of: obtaining, at the smart router, a routing plan toward an external IP network, wherein the routing plan is associated with a currently assigned IP address, wherein the routing plan defines two or more different access service servers; and routing toward the external IP network, by the smart router, packets that include the currently assigned IP address through a first access services server from the two or more different access services servers; waiting for receiving, at the smart router, a relevant processed packet from the first access services server and transfer, by the smart router, the received relevant processed packet toward a second access services server from the two or more different access services servers; wherein the currently assigned IP address was assigned to the subscriber while the subscriber request to attach to the external IP network.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the action of obtaining a routing plan further comprising obtaining a routing plan wherein the assigned IP address is a public IP address.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the routing plan depends on real-time information and further comprising the action of receiving real-time information.
12. The method of claim 11 , wherein real-time information comprises one or more information elements including a location of subscriber equipment associated with the data traffic, the time-of-day, the day-of-the-week and the identification of a subscriber utilizing the subscriber equipment.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
November 15, 2010
November 11, 2014
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